Cyclemotor bicycles

Introduction

The most popular of all the special cyclemotor cycles, the
BSA was primarily intended for use
with the BSA Winged Wheel
engine. It was sold as a complete machine with a Winged
Wheel already fitted but could also be bought without a rear
wheel as the brochure said "for use with Motorised Wheels of all
types", which would have meant a Cyclemaster. A third
version was sold as a frame and forks but with no wheels or
brakes. This version could be built up to take any
cyclemotor. This third version was considerably cheaper
because, unlike the other two, it was not subject to Purchase
Tax.

Unlike other cyclemotor frames, the BSA had a Webb spring fork. A cable-operated
stirrup brake was the standard fitting, but a calliper or a drum
brake were available as options. The three versions were
available as gents' or ladies' frames, making six models
altogether.

In addition, all six models were also produced with New Hudson
or Sunbeam badges.

Casalini David

Having said in the opening paragraph that this article would
be about cyclemotor bicycles in the UK, what's this Italian bike doing here?
Well firstly, it serves to show how much better these things were
done on the Continent, and secondly, it almost made it into the
UK.

The British-made cyclemotor frames were little more than
normal pedal cycles. Far from being "specially made" any
manufacturer that made cycles for the Post Office already had all
the jigs and tooling needed to make a cyclemotor frame - even
down to the dropped top tube on the gents' models.

On the other hand, the Casalini David was a proper,
purpose-built frame with a girder fork and a petrol tank built
into the frame. On mainland Europe, frames like these would
not be retailed. They'd be supplied to smaller makers who'd
build them up complete with an engine and sold to the public as a
finished motorised bicycle. We did things differently in
the UK, buying cycles and engines
separately and then fitting the two together. The main
reason for this difference was the peculiar Purchase Tax
situation in the UK, which made buying
a finished bike more expensive.

So, what's the connection between the Casalini David and the
UK? A Casalini David appeared at
the 1955 Earls Court Show ... on the Power Pak stand. Power
Pak was showing the prototype of its new Mo-Ped. This was a
complete, roller drive moped built around the Casalini David
frame and forks. The Mo-Ped never went into production.

Coventry

Dunelt

The only examples of Dunelt cyclemotor frames we've found are
in New Zealand and are fitted with Sanki Sunlight
cyclemotors. The Dunelt has an indentation to clear a chain
drive (not needed for the Sanki engine) and the pump clips on the
right of the down tube to keep the pump clear of an engine in the
frame triangle (also not needed for the Sanki engine).
These features correspond with the frame used for the Phillips
Motorised Bicycle. It looks as if surplus Phillips
P36X frames were rebranded as Dunelt
Specials and exported to New Zealand. The Dunelt has same
the Webb fork used for BSA Winged
Wheels rather than the braced rigid fork or the telescopic fork
of the Phillips version.

Elswick

Elswick listed ten motor attachment cycles on its price
list. These were Models E1, E2, E3, E4 & E5 with gent's
frame and E1L to E5L with lady's frames. However, the
catalogue only gives the specifications for the E2, E2L, E5 and
E5L versions.

E5 and E5L were supplied without a rear wheel and rear brake,
so were intended for use with a Cyclemaster or BSA Winged Wheel. The front fork was fitted
with chromium-plated bracing bars and the seat tube was
2 inches shorter than on a normal bicycle - necessitating a
dropped top tube on the gent's model. The catalogue shows
the front wheel fitted with a drum brake. From the price
list, we can deduce that the E4 and E4L models were also supplied
without a rear wheel. These were £1 cheaper than the
E5 and E5L so probably had a rim brake instead of a drum.

The E2 has two wheels and is described as "suitable for use
with any type of modern auxiliary Motor Attachment". The
frame and forks are the same design as the E5 and the E2 depicted
has a roller-lever stirrup front brake and a coaster brake at the
back. With E1 being cheaper than the E2, but E3 more
expensive - perhaps the E1 had a stirrup brake at the back and
the E3 had a drum at the front? One unusual feature of the
E1 to E3 models was that they had 26×1 3/8 rims.
The E4 and E5 had a 1¾ section tyre, like most other
makes. All had number plates and licence holders and were
available in Black or Dove Grey.

Hopper

The ten Elswick models could also be had under the Hopper
marque (models H1 to H5L). Additionally, both Elswicks and
Hoppers could be supplied with a Webb spring fork instead of the
braced fork - so that makes a total of 40 different
Elswick-Hopper models!

Mercury

Mercury Industries made pedal cycle mainly for export and, as
these were mostly of the heavy duty 'Colonial' style, were ideal
for cyclemotors. Mercury struck a deal with Cyclemaster so
the Mercury models became the 'official' recommended models for
Cyclemaster wheels. To begin with, there were two models:
MCMO with an open, lady's frame and
MCMD with a diamond, man's
frame. They were conventional, roadster type cycles but
were built wide enough to take oversize 2-inch section
tyres. The finish was 'Polychromatic' grey to match the
Cyclemaster.

Back in 1949, and with an eye on the American market, Mercury
produced its Streamlined Boy's Roadster cycle. The top tube
of this bicycle curved down towards the seat tube and became two
curved tubes continuing down to the rear wheel spindle and
forming the seat stays of the frame. In 1953, Mercury
adapted this design to an adult-sized frame. With an extra
strong rack carrying a seat pad and two footresrs, this became
Mercury's Cyclemaster Pillion model.

Launched at the same time as the Pillion, Cyclemaster added
the Roundsman to its range. This was a low-gravity carrier
cycle. Unlike a normal trade bike, it was finished in
Polychromatic grey and equipped with a chain guard. It is
assumed that this was also made by Mercury but that's not
definitely stated in any of Cyclemaster's publicity material.

New Hudson

The New Hudson motor attachment cycles were 'badge-engineered'
BSA machines - see part 1.

Norman

While Mercury is usually considered to be the 'official' frame
for the Cyclemaster, Norman also produced an officially
sanctioned Cyclemaster bicycle. The Norman 'took over' from
the Mercury in 1954 and this is, no doubt, linked to Norman
producing the frames for the Cyclemate.

There were two models: the man's C/MA and the woman's D/MA. In standard form, the cycle was equipped
with two 26×1½ wheels but could be supplied without
a rear wheel at a saving of £2 10s 6d on the
normal price of £16 2s 0d. Rather than list
lots of different models, Norman offered different options on
their two models. So, 1¾-inch section wheels and
tyres could be fitted for an extra 6s 6d. A rack,
pillion seat and footrests cost another
£2 8s 7d. The Norman man's model, like
other makes, has a dropped top tube to allow a lowered saddle
height. The standard finish was "Special Mid-Green
Polychromatic", like the Cyclemate, but the cycle was available
in black as an option.

Phillips

There were four models of Phillips bicycle for cyclemotor
units. The P35 had roller-lever
stirrup brakes and the P36 had drum
brakes, which could be cable or rod operated. P35L and P36L were the
women's versions. The man's version had the usual dropped
top tube. All models could be supplied without a rear
wheel. The Phillips bicycle had bracing bars; a bracket
clamped under the steering lock nut supported the upper end of
these bars while the lower ends were held by the front wheel
nuts. Catalogue illustrations show a forward-facing front
number plate fitted across these bars but surviving examples of
the Phillips have the more usual fore-and-aft plate on the front
mudguard. Phillips bicycles for the Cyclemaster also had a
special offset rear rack. This was offset to the left so
that the stay on that side would be clear of the Cyclemaster's
fuel tank. This 'special' rack was actually a re-working of
the rack Phillips made for military bicycles. The military
rack was offset to the right so a rifle could be slung along the
left side of the bicycle.

Versions of the Phillips were also sold as complete motorised
machines: Phillips's own P36X
Motorised Bicycle and Vincent’s Power Cycle.

Raleigh

Raleigh would have nothing to do with cyclemotors and made it
clear that the normal lifetime guarantee on a Raleigh cycle would
be invalidated by fitting a cyclemotor. This aversion to
motors continued until the acquisition of BSA's cycle division in 1957, and work started on
producing the first Raleigh Moped.

Sun

Sun produced a cyclemotor frame that was specifically intended
for the Vincent Firefly. Unlike most other manufacturers'
designs, the Sun Motorette used a mixte design of frame with a
lowered top tube that divided into stays and continued straight
to the rear dropouts. Equipped with a front drum brake,
rear coaster brake, rack, number plate, lighting and electric
horn, the cycle retailed at £18 17s 6d.

Sunbeam

There were four variants of the Sunbeam cyclemotor bicycle:
T14 and LT14 were respectively
the gents' and ladies' versions. They were also available
at the T14WW and LT14WW with a Winged
Wheel unit already installed. Apart from the badges and
transfers, they were identical to the corresponding BSA models
and were sold at identical prices.

Did Three Spires make a cyclemotor bicycle? We've never
seen one, but it is possible. Three Spires was the marque
used by the Coventry Bicycle Company. Together with
Triumph, they formed the Associated Cycle Manufacturers of
Coventry. Triumph and Three Spires produced separate ranges
of cycles pre-war but, after World War 2 the two makes
were merged. The Triumph name was used for the home market
while the Three Spires name was applied to exported
machines. As Triumph produced a cycle for cyclemotors, it
is possible that it could have been exported as a Three
Spires.

Triumph

Combining its own name with that of the most popular of the
cyclemotor units, Triumph called its cyclemotor bicycle the
Trimaster.

The Trimaster closely followed the pattern of most of the
other cyclemotor bicycles with a strengthened frame and a dropped
top tube on the man's version. The seat stays were bolted
in, roadster-style. The handlebars were equipped with a
single roller lever for the front brake, relying on the
Cyclemaster's built-in coaster hub for rear wheel braking.
Front forks were rigid with no bracing bars.